The present invention pertains generally to devices which protect a wearer from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and more particularly to a flexible shield which can be attached to and wrapped around the hat or other headgear of the wearer.
Many people have skin which is sensitive to the sun""s powerful rays. Even when these people use the most protective sun block products, they can still burn after only a short period of exposure. One solution to this problem is to shield the face and neck of the individual with a material which blocks the harmful ultraviolet light, but which passes visible light. Such shields, facemasks, and the like, which attach to headgear, and which protect a user, are well known in the art. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,296 shows a protective face shield having a shield member of transparent flexible material in the upper corners of which pairs of slits are formed. A headband is threaded through the slits in a manner such that once the headband is donned the shield member may be pulled away from the wearer""s face to provide good air circulation. A lower portion of the face shield is contoured inwardly to protect the throat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,361 illustrates a lightweight headgear mountable protective face shield capable of protecting substantially the entire face of a human wearer from ultraviolet radiation. The face shield comprises an articulated shielding arrangement to be positioned in blocking relationship to tie wearer""s face. The shielding arrangement comprising a plurality of segments extending across the wearer""s face, the ends of which are preferably pivotally connected to hinge plates positioned at either side of the wearer""s head. The hinge plates are attached to a securing mechanism which secures the face shield to an article of headgear. In a preferred embodiment, the face shield is detachably secured to the forwardly projecting bill of a baseball style cap by a securing mechanism comprising a pair of jaws between which the bill is secured by clamping.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,210 discloses a flexible face shield which includes two side wings that are connected to a main body by living hinges and a face-engaging element that spaces the body away from the face of a wearer. A flexible band attaches the shield to the wearer. The face shield body is opaque to the sun and one form of the shield includes cutouts which are covered with sunglasses-type material. The body is preferably cardboard or other such material so the shield can be folded and bent for storage or to customize it for the particular wearer. The shield can be discarded after use if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,102 is directed to a face shield for a helmet. The face shield having a weather lens and a face lens spaced from the weather lens so as to form an air gap, is characterized in that an electroconductive film is attached to the air gap of the weather lens, in that upper and lower electrodes are printed on upper and lower sides of the electroconductive film, respectively, in that a plurality of dot electrodes which are uniformly spaced from each other are printed on the entire part of the electroconductive film, and in that the weather lens is made from a material such as a polycarbonate, butyrate, or an acrylic, and the face lens from an anti-fog sheet.
The present invention is directed to a darkly tinted shield which removably attaches to a hat or other headgear to protect the face and neck of a wearer from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. A preferred name for the present invention is xe2x80x9cDaisy Shaderxe2x80x9d.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a shield for protecting the face and neck of a wearer from ultraviolet radiation is mountable in wrap around fashion to headgear such as a hat, a helmet, a cap, and the like. The shield is attached to the center of the visor or brim of the headgear, and wraps around both sides of the headgear fastening in the back of the headgear. The shield includes a thin sheet which blocks much of the ultraviolet radiation but passes visible light so that the wearer can see. The sheet is shaped and dimensioned so that when it is wrapped around the headgear, it covers the face of the wearer. Elastic straps are connected to each end of the sheet so that the straps may be wrapped around the headgear and connected at the back of the headgear, thereby attaching the shield to the headgear. A clamp is disposed near the top center of the sheet. The clamp is shaped and dimensioned to receive and selectively grasp the visor of the headgear, so that the clamp may be fixedly attached to the center of the visor. The clamp is designed to permit the shield to be mounted flush with the visor of the headgear.
In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the mouth of the clamp is angled upward to match the downward angle of the visor of the headgear. This design causes the sheet to be oriented substantially vertical on an upstanding wearer.
In accordance with an important feature of the invention, the shield also includes a curtain which may be connected to the sides of the shield and wrapped around the back of the neck of the wearer. The curtain hangs down to provide further protection against ultraviolet radiation.
In accordance with another important feature of the invention, at least one spacer is disposed on the inside surface of the sheet to allow air to ventilate from under the attached shield.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.